Understanding Food Sensitivity
Food sensitivities can make life a bit challenging – sometimes even miserable. However, knowledge can provide the empowerment you need to stand against this suffering. Our team at Natural Health Wins in Ballwin and Carbondale has put together this quick guide to help you understand food sensitivities and how we can help.
What Exactly Are Food Sensitivities?
Before diving into what they are, let’s talk about what they are not. Food sensitivities are not food allergies – these are two very different things. Food allergies involve a response from the immune system that can end with a severe allergic reaction. Food sensitivities or intolerance are a bit different. They involve a chemical reaction in your body caused by something you eat or drink, or how much of it you consume. Typically, they do not involve any immediate life-threatening risks.
Symptoms of Food Sensitivity
Food sensitivities often create symptoms in the digestive system, such as diarrhea, bloating, gas, heartburn, stomach pain, nausea, and vomiting. Some other symptoms include:
- Headaches and migraines
- Stuffy nose or runny nose
- Itchy, burning, or flushed skin
- Fatigue
- Brain fog
- Joint pain
- Muscle pain
- Chronic inflammation
- Sweating
- Nervousness
Food sensitivity symptoms can sometimes be confused with food allergies, as they can cause allergy-like reactions and breathing problems. In such cases, it’s best to seek medical attention immediately to ensure that there is not a more serious issue at play.
What Causes Food Sensitivities?
The underlying cause is that there is something in the food or drink that the person’s body can’t process properly. However, what exactly that is can be as varied as the individual. Some common foods that trigger food sensitivities include:
- Various additives
- Chocolate
- Eggs
- Dairy products
- Wine
- MSG
- Citrus fruits
What Can I Do About Food Sensitivities?
One of the best things you can do is visit a functional medicine provider for an accurate diagnosis of food sensitivities and gut health through nutrition response testing. Nutrition response testing provides insight into how your body responds to different types of foods. For example, it can help pinpoint which foods might be causing chronic inflammation or headaches.
Functional medicine providers then take this information to develop a personalized plan to improve your overall and gut health. Often, this will include detoxification to rid your body of toxins that can impact your health and well-being. Detoxification is typically a combination of in-office treatments and steps to take at home. Your treatment will typically also include a combination of chiropractic therapies and techniques to help restore balance to the body and enhance your results.
Improve Your Health and Well-being With Our Functional Medicine Team
Our team at Natural Health Wins is here to help you achieve the most optimal health and wellness possible. Schedule an appointment at our Ballwin location at (636) 736-6426 or our Carbondale location at (618) 309-7182.